Tag: belal muhammad

Kamaru Usman, Belal Muhammad in fiery social media battle: ‘Colby sucks, you went to war with him twice’

Kamaru Usman, Belal Muhammad in fiery social media battle: 'Colby sucks, you went to war with him twice'Seemingly reinvigorated amid the new title reign of the surging, Belal Muhammad, former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman’s own reign…

Kamaru Usman, Belal Muhammad in fiery social media battle: 'Colby sucks, you went to war with him twice'

Seemingly reinvigorated amid the new title reign of the surging, Belal Muhammad, former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman’s own reign atop the 170 pound division has been called into significant question by the new gold holder, amid links to a title grudge fight next.

Muhammad, the newly-minted undisputed welterweight champion, managed to scoop the divisional crown in the main event of UFC 304 last month in Manchester, landing an impressive unanimous decision win over common-foe, Leon Edwards in the pair’s title grudge rematch.

29225287683

As for Usman, the Auchi veteran suffered his third consecutive loss at UFC 294 back in October, making a brief cameo in a middleweight debut, losing a controversial majority decision to the unbeaten, Khamzat Chimaev.

Belal Muhammad hits out at rival, Kamaru Usman

However, expected to likely return to his former welterweight stomping grounds following Muhammad’s coronation, Usman’s reign has been mocked by the Illinois native overnight on social media.

gettyimages 2164000883 612x612 1

“Alright, enough of the night guy… you were never chasing me, bum,” Kamaru Usman posted on his official X account. “You were barely in the rankings when I dominated the division. FYI I have have a win over Leon, son.”

“Dominated the division?” Belal Muhammad replied. “U beat Masvidal twice and went to cardio kickboxing war with Colby twice (Colby sucks). U were protected by UFC… now u can barely walk… your podcast sucks… and ur part in Black Panther sucked.”

Kamaru Usman branded best welterweight of all time by UFC boss you cannot deny that
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari – Zuffa LLC

Also welcoming a charge to his crown from the unbeaten finishing star, Shavkat Rakhmonov, the above-mentioned, Muhammad has made no bones about competing against Usman either – in a bid to establish a significant legacy as the undisputed welterweight gold holder. 

Who wins in a future title showdown: Belal Muhammad or Kamaru Usman?

Belal Muhammad: There’s ‘Turmoil’ Between Leon Edwards & Coach After UFC 304 Loss

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad had to wait three years to get his shot at a rematch with Leon Edwards. After their first fight ended in a no contest due to an eye poke, both men put together impressive winning streaks before meeting against at UFC 304. In that time, Muhammad was very open about […]

Continue Reading Belal Muhammad: There’s ‘Turmoil’ Between Leon Edwards & Coach After UFC 304 Loss at MMA News.

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad had to wait three years to get his shot at a rematch with Leon Edwards.

After their first fight ended in a no contest due to an eye poke, both men put together impressive winning streaks before meeting against at UFC 304.

In that time, Muhammad was very open about his dislike of Edwards for not wanting to fight him, but with that being said, he was honest about a potential trilogy fight between them.

“Rocky” could seemingly put himself back in the title picture with a bounce-back win, and the champion acknowledged that.

Belal Muhammad Questions Whether Leon Edwards Will Recover From Loss & Corner Conflict

In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Muhammad gave his thoughts on the current state of the 170-pound division and whether he expects to cross paths with Edwards once again.

He believes that whilst “Rocky” can certainly put his name back in the mix if he goes away and beats a fellow top contender, he doesn’t know whether that will happen.

Muhammad said that it will be an uphill battle for the former champion to come back as the same fighter with the same hunger, after what took place in Manchester.

He also made reference to how Edwards could be dealing with a fractured team after what happened inside the Octagon on July 27.

The Brit’s head coach Dave Lovell, in trying to motivate his fighter, asked him whether he wanted him to wave the fight off and call it a night to which Edwards seemingly told him to “shut the f*** up”.

Muhammad said that this factor may mean it’ll take some time before Edwards is on his radar once again.

“There’s not a lot of guys that you’re looking at like this is a clear number one contender, this guy’s clear number one contender, so Leon could go out there, get one win and if it’s a huge win, there’s a possibility that he could get his name back in the mix. But, it all just comes back mentally.

“I don’t know if him and his coach are gonna have like a break-up party now because they looked pretty bad in the corner right. There’s a lot of turmoil there so I feel like there’s gonna be a lot of blame and a lot of embarrassment coming from that team and a lot of just embarrassment from himself.”

Read also: Belal Muhammad On How Many Title Defenses Before He Can Discuss Double-Champ Status: ‘I Already Beat All These Guys In The Top 10!’

Continue Reading Belal Muhammad: There’s ‘Turmoil’ Between Leon Edwards & Coach After UFC 304 Loss at MMA News.

Belal Muhammad Follows Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Lead, Avoids Trash Talk: “I never wanted to fake it”

Belal Muhammad laughs off Colby Covington TiradeUFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad says he’s following Khabib Nurmagomedov’s lead by avoiding trash-talking. Khabib Nurmagomedov Muhammad has been…

Belal Muhammad laughs off Colby Covington Tirade

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad says he’s following Khabib Nurmagomedov’s lead by avoiding trash-talking.

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Muhammad has been a supporter of Nurmagomedov and trained with his team ahead of his UFC 304 title fight against Leon Edwards. After Muhammad pulled off the upset to become the welterweight champion, he said he has no plans to trash-talk as that isn’t him and he just wants to be himself, like Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“No, because I never wanted to fake it, never wanted to be out of my character…I always looked up to Khabib Nurmagomedov, I always looked up to like guy like him who he brought the religion Islam into the sport and the world started learning it from his actions so like I wanted to follow in his footsteps and being that guy,” Muhammad said to Grind City (via SportsRush).

Muhammad says he doesn’t want to be a person he isn’t just to sell more pay-per-views. Instead, he got the title shot and became the champion by being himself and he will continue to do just that.

Khabib Nurmagomedov to have Ferrari seized by Russian government

Belal Muhammad ready to face any challenger

Belal Muhammad is ready to be a dominant UFC champion and says he is ready to fight whoever the UFC gives him.

Muhammad says he wants to be like Alexander Volkanovski who took on any challenger, as ‘Remember The Name’ says he won’t be turning down any challenger for a bigger fight.

“I had to get Dana White for the opportunity – he promised I would get it and he stuck to his word,” Muhammad said (via MMAJunkie). “He gave me this opportunity, so for me now it’s showing the UFC, showing Dana White and all them that I can be the best champion you have. The champion who fights all these guys. I want to be a champion like the reign of (Alexander) Volkanovski and (Israel) Adesanya where they looked at the next guy in line like, ‘Let me beat this guy.’ We never ducked anybody. We’re never ducking anybody. Point them out.”

Belal Muhammad is 24-3 and one NC in the UFC and riding an 11-fight unbeaten streak.

Belal Muhammad On How Many Title Defenses Before He Can Discuss Double-Champ Status: ‘I Already Beat All These Guys In The Top 10!’

UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad believes his long and grueling path to the title means a quicker route to another belt is on the cards. Muhammad added the 170-pound gold to his résumé late last month in Manchester, headlining the UFC 304 pay-per-view event in enemy territory in competition for Leon Edwards’ throne. “Remember the […]

Continue Reading Belal Muhammad On How Many Title Defenses Before He Can Discuss Double-Champ Status: ‘I Already Beat All These Guys In The Top 10!’ at MMA News.

UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad believes his long and grueling path to the title means a quicker route to another belt is on the cards.

Muhammad added the 170-pound gold to his résumé late last month in Manchester, headlining the UFC 304 pay-per-view event in enemy territory in competition for Leon Edwards’ throne.

“Remember the Name” made good on his confident pre-fight predictions, dragging “Rocky” to deep waters with his pressure wrestling and ever-improving striking game en route to a lopsided decision win.

While a significant moment for his career, the crowning has certainly not marked the completion of Muhammad’s ambitions. And as well a rise up the pound-for-pound ranks from his current #5 ranking, that includes entry into the ‘champ-champ’ club…

Muhammad Targets Two Welterweight Defenses Before Middleweight Shot

During a recent interview with John Morgan for Grind City Media, Muhammad discussed the current landscape of the welterweight division and assessed how much work he’ll have to put in to open up a path to 185 pounds.

“Remember the Name” has frequently discussed the sheer number of top contenders he had to go through in order to finally earn a first championship opportunity. And having already defeated four names inside the top 10, he expects to only require a couple of defenses before his gaze fully drifts to the middleweight strap.

“I beat this guy, this guy, this guy. … None of these guys beat a number one contender like I beat a number one contender,” Muhammad said. “When I beat Luque, he was on a seven-fight winning streak…he weighed in as a backup. When I beat Gilbert Burns, he was on a two-fight winning streak; he was the number one contender. … Sean Brady was 15-0 when I beat him. All these guys had big wins, huge wins.

“It tells me that I’ve got maybe two fights and then I can start talking about double-champ status because I already beat all these guys in the top 10,” Muhammad continued.

While he’s now quickly setting his sights on the gold held above him by Dricus Du Plessis, Muhammad has also poured gold water on the two-division ambitions of another UFC champion.

In recent years, “Remember the Name” has often trained alongside lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev. Although the Dagestani has been firm in outlining his plans to secure the welterweight belt, the presence of his friend on that throne means his pursuit of another belt has paused for the time being.

Continue Reading Belal Muhammad On How Many Title Defenses Before He Can Discuss Double-Champ Status: ‘I Already Beat All These Guys In The Top 10!’ at MMA News.

UFC Rankings Report: Belal Muhammad Jumps Sean O’Malley On Pound-For-Pound List

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away. And in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings. Men’s Pound-For-Pound: A week after entering the P4P […]

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Belal Muhammad Jumps Sean O’Malley On Pound-For-Pound List at MMA News.

As always, the latest action on offer inside the Octagon has seen some climb the ladder toward contention and others fall away.

And in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night: Cory Sandhagen vs. Umar Nurmagomedov, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings.

Men’s Pound-For-Pound: A week after entering the P4P rankings at #6, Belal Muhammad has had another boost. The welterweight champion has now moved above his bantamweight counterpart, Sean O’Malley (#6), to occupy the #5 position.

Women’s Pound-for-Pound: Bantamweight queen Raquel Pennington is expected to defend her title for the first time opposite ex-champ Julianna Peña this fall. And the pair now sit on the same step of the pound-for-pound rankings, with “Rocky” joining “The Venezuelan Vixen” to share #5.

Women’s Strawweight: Mackenzie Dern bounced back from a two-fight skid on Saturday, but she’s still fallen further at 115 pounds. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace has dropped one place to #8, with her compatriot Amanda Ribas moving up to #7.

Women’s Flyweight: While on the rise at strawweight, Ribas has taken a hit at 125 pounds, slipping one spot to #10 below Viviane Araújo (#9).

Women’s Bantamweight: At 135 pounds, Miesha Tate and Norma Dumont have both been boosted to #8, leaving a three-way tie for the position with Karol Rosa.

Flyweight: No changes.

Bantamweight: Umar Nurmagomedov secured the biggest win of his young career to date in Abu Dhabi, outpointing the highly ranked Cory Sandhagen across five rounds. As a result, the Dagestani has climbed a mammoth eight places to #2. “The Sandman,” meanwhile has remained in the top five after a one-spot drop to #4.

Also on the rise at 135 pounds is Deiveson Figueiredo (#5), who secured a top-five position with his comfortable victory over former title challenger Marlon Vera this past weekend.

Featherweight: At 145 pounds, Movsar Evloev is down one step to #6, no longer sharing the #5 place with Arnold Allen. Further down, Bryce Mitchell has moved up to share #12 with Diego Lopes.

Lightweight: Despite having his return announced for 170 pounds at UFC 308 later this year, former champ Rafael dos Anjos has received a boost at 155 pounds. He’s climbed to #13, swapping positions with Jalin Turner (#14).

Welterweight: No changes.

Middleweight: No changes.

Light Heavyweight: He’s had to wait a while but Roman Dolidze is finally ranked in two weight classes following his triumph over Anthony Smith at UFC 303. The Georgian has arrived at 205 pounds in the #15 position, three spots below “Lionheart.”

Elsewhere in the division, Azamat Murzakanov is knocking on the door of the top 10 after climbing three spots to #11 courtesy of his knockout win over Alonzo Menifield on August 3.

Heavyweight: No changes.

You can view the full updated UFC rankings here.

Continue Reading UFC Rankings Report: Belal Muhammad Jumps Sean O’Malley On Pound-For-Pound List at MMA News.

Jon Anik Talks Difficulty Of Avoiding Bias While Commentating On ‘Family’ Belal Muhammad: ‘People Just Fixate Upon This…’

Jon Anik recently opened up about the challenge of maintaining impartiality while commentating on the fights of his close friend, Belal Muhammad. Muhammad clinched a resounding unanimous decision victory over reigning UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards in their highly anticipated rematch last month at UFC 304 in Manchester, United Kingdom. Ever since “Remember the Name” […]

Continue Reading Jon Anik Talks Difficulty Of Avoiding Bias While Commentating On ‘Family’ Belal Muhammad: ‘People Just Fixate Upon This…’ at MMA News.

Jon Anik recently opened up about the challenge of maintaining impartiality while commentating on the fights of his close friend, Belal Muhammad.

Muhammad clinched a resounding unanimous decision victory over reigning UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards in their highly anticipated rematch last month at UFC 304 in Manchester, United Kingdom.

Ever since “Remember the Name” ascended to the UFC 170-pound championship, Anik, who typically upholds a veneer of neutrality regarding UFC fighters, has been fervently expressive on social media.

In a recent post on Instagram, Anik professed that his favorite aspect of the job is witnessing a title challenger triumph and rise to championship glory. When Muhammad achieved this milestone at UFC 304, the play-by-play commentator confessed that his bond with the Palestinian-American fighter, coupled with Muhammad’s grueling path to the title, made the victory exceptionally poignant for him.

However, calling a fight involving a dear confidant presents Anik with a distinct array of professional difficulties in the commentary booth…

Anik Explains He Separates Personal Bonds When Fighters Enter The Octagon

During a recent interview with Submission Radio, Anik delved into the complexities of sustaining emotional equanimity and navigating personal affiliations when commentating on fights involving athletes he knows well, particularly Muhammad.

The UFC broadcaster explained that once a fighter steps into the Octagon, he sets aside any personal relationships and strives to limit his commentary to what is necessary.

“Well, they’re all different. I mean, certainly, when the athlete hits the tunnel, I try to remove a lot of that from the equation,” Anik said. “If you look at the way I was, ‘sucking Jan Blachowicz’s d*ck’ when he won the title, it’s not dissimilar to the way I’m celebrating Belal Muhammad now. I think people just fixate upon this because of his relationship with my twin brother. Yes, there’s a lot of personal connection there.

Yes, Belal is like family, but once he hits that tunnel, that relationship is thrown out the window. This one just had a lot of interpersonal connections because of my twin brother, but I do believe I’m able to compartmentalize and throw those things out and objectively call these fights.”

Anik went on to mention that if he ever makes any biased or unnecessary comments during fights, UFC executives on the production team promptly remind him of the impropriety.

“You can be sure the day that I’m not able to do so, I’ll get a call from Craig Borsari, my boss, or Zach Candito, one of my other bosses, or Dana White will get word to me in an indirect way. So, word hasn’t come in yet. I stand by the call, as I do most of these, and I love both the athletes. Oftentimes, there’s a relationship on both sides of the fight, and that was certainly the case at UFC 304.”

Anik and Muhammad developed a close rapport when he signed “Remember the Name” to his podcast network in 2020. Since then, Muhammad has co-hosted Remember the Show on YouTube alongside Jason Anik, the identical twin brother of the UFC commentator.

Continue Reading Jon Anik Talks Difficulty Of Avoiding Bias While Commentating On ‘Family’ Belal Muhammad: ‘People Just Fixate Upon This…’ at MMA News.